Culture

As Godfather of Harlem returns for its fourth and final season on MGM+, the gritty television series about 1960s crime boss Bumpy Johnson — played by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker — closes out with one last original soundtrack curated by none other than Swizz Beatz. With nearly three decades of hitmaking under his belt, Swizz has served as executive music producer for all four seasons, enlisting an all-star lineup of veteran MCs and rising voices to match the show’s powerful storytelling.

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The latest 10-track project features collaborations with the likes of Conway the Machine, Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, and Jay Electronica, while the lead single “Danger Danger” pairs Swizz with Jadakiss and Pusha T. Additional contributions come from Cruel Youth, ScarLip, Sauce Walka, Tobe Nwigwe, Larry June, and more — proving that the series is going out with a bang.

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Billboard caught up with Swizz Beatz in New York City to talk about what first drew him to the series, how the music helps elevate its message, and what advice Bumpy Johnson might give to today’s generation of artists.

Godfather of Harlem is such a captivating show. What initially drew you to get involved with it, and how did your role evolve over time?Godfather of Harlem is the gift that keeps on giving. I’ve always been a big fan of Forest Whitaker — and come to find out, he was a big fan of mine. When they were looking for an executive music producer, Forest was like, “No, we need somebody from New York who understands the streets — someone who comes from the streets — to give the show the real, the grit that it needs.”

I got a phone call from Forest and a call from the team. It was a simple conversation: “Yo, we’re working on this show based on Bumpy Johnson. It’s set in Harlem.” Most of my family still lives in Harlem. I’m from the Bronx, but it’s HBO — Harlem Bronx Only. That’s what we say. I was just like, “OK, let’s have fun.” Four seasons in, it’s been an amazing journey, and we’re just getting started.

The show explores themes of power, identity and culture in Harlem. In what ways do you think the music you created enhances those themes, and how do you balance staying true to the history while adding your own personal touch?

When I first started, I was just doing tracks. I was like, “Okay, this track sounds good, that track could sound good.” But the way that I really broke down the formula for the show was making the songs voices in the head. My voice is what Bumpy Johnson is thinking. Then you have other artists’ vocals, which are what Rome’s thinking, what Mimi’s thinking. Make the musicians characters themselves in the film. When you see the score and how it’s lined up, it’s coming from the mind of the actor or actress you’re seeing at that moment. I kind of scored the individual actors for the music, instead of just doing music and having them put it with the scene. 

How did working on the show influence your approach to creating music? Did it spark any new ideas or projects you’re excited about?

Working on the show is different from a lot of other things, especially in TV. In TV, they really have strict direction of where they want to go. I’m not gonna lie, I had the freedom to do whatever on this show, which is cool because I was able to invite a lot of new artists to the project. I didn’t have to just get hit songs to make the project seem cool. When you listen to the music, you don’t care if it was made then or now, it fits the property of the show.

Chris Brodo and my whole team have been super supportive, just saying, “Listen, let Swizz do what he’s gonna do.” We have parties in the studio — when we’re shooting Godfather of Harlem, it’s a party. The artists are there, the actors are there, the producers are there, the production manager, the sound man… we keep an open-door policy of creativity, and that’s how we feed off the energy from season one to season four.

As someone who’s both a creative force in music and involved in the TV/film world, how do you balance those two worlds? And what advice would you give to others trying to expand their creative boundaries?

The balance of TV and any other part of music is using the same part of the brain, they all go together. They’re all brothers and sisters, photography and artists, brothers and sisters, art and music as brothers and sisters, cinema, photography — all of these are still under the umbrella of art. It’s not even a hard job to just switch your brain from the subject matter.

The advice I would give to anyone is just to be as original as possible. Just do something disruptive, stand on it, and not really follow what everybody’s doing.

If I were to follow the rules or follow what everybody’s doing for this series the music wouldn’t feel organic. I’d feel pressured to make a hit record and feel pressured to do something on the charts. I built and designed this for the viewers and the listeners, but the viewers first.

 What’s one song from the soundtrack that you think defines the show? 

I would say, ” Crown Don’t Make You King” — that’s Conway the Machine, featuring Cruel Youth. When you see this song in the show, it’s at such a pinnacle peak: You got the crown, but it takes many more things to be a king than just the crown that you’re wearing. It’s what’s under the crown that makes you the king. The way that Teddy Sinclair wrote the words to those vocals is just unbelievable. And then Conway the Machine, just giving his energy on it, it’s one of my favorites.

What’s one piece of advice that you think Bumpy would give to rappers in this day and age?

Bumpy was about building community. Although he had a bad rap for being a gangster, if you really look at what he was doing, it was basically like Robin Hood, he was investing back into his people. He was investing back into every major program — he would fund every major government program. Even his wife would fund them. He was a big philanthropic gangster. I think what he would tell people is to give more, double down more, get your education, and be smart about risking your life.